I built a Cargo-like build tool for C/C++
I love C and C++, but setting up projects can sometimes be a pain.Every time I wanted to start something new I'd spend the first hour writing CMakeLists.txt, figuring out find_package, copying boilerplate from my last project, and googling why my library isn't linking. By the time the project was actually set up I'd lost all momentum.So, I built Craft - a lightweight build and workflow tool for C and C++. Instead of writing CMake, your project configuration goes in a simple craft.toml: [project] name = "my_app" version = "0.1.0" language = "c" c_standard = 99 [build] type = "executable" Run craft build and Craft generates the CMakeLists.txt automatically and builds your project. Want to add dependencies? That's just a simple command: craft add --git https://github.com/raysan5/raylib --links raylib craft add --path ../my_library craft add sfml Craft will clone the dependency, regenerate the CMake, and rebuild your project for you.Other Craft features: craft init - adopt an existing C/C++ project into Craft or initialize an empty directory. craft template - save any project structure as a template to be initialized later. craft gen - generate header and source files with starter boilerplate code. craft upgrade - keeps itself up to date.CMakeLists.extra.cmake for anything that Craft does not yet handle.Cross platform - macOS, Linux, Windows.It is still early (I just got it to v1.0.0) but I am excited to be able to share it and keep improving it.Would love feedback. Please also feel free to make pull requests if you want to help with development!
FL score
out of 100
Verdict
high confidence
Competition
7
competitors found, mature market, funded players
Trend
No signal yet
A 'Cargo-like' C/C++ build tool offering simpler project setup and dependency management, but facing an insurmountable wall of free, big-tech-backed competitors.
The pain
The gap
Build angle
Strengths
- Addresses a real, persistent, and specific pain point for C/C++ developers.
- The creator has successfully built a v1.0.0 MVP, demonstrating technical capability.
- The 'Cargo-like' simplicity offers a desirable developer experience for those frustrated with existing solutions.
Risks
- The market is heavily dominated by powerful, free, open-source build tools backed by tech giants (Google, Microsoft, Meta), making direct competition extremely difficult.
- No clear path to monetization exists; users are accustomed to free core build tools, and commercial models are typically for adjacent enterprise services.
- High switching costs for existing C/C++ projects, even with a better tool.
- Extremely challenging to gain adoption and build a community against entrenched incumbents with massive resources.
- The 'simplicity' value proposition, while attractive, may not be enough to overcome the inertia and feature sets of more complex, established tools for various use cases.
Next steps
- Consider open-sourcing the project and building a community without direct monetization expectations, as a portfolio piece.
- If monetization is a goal, explore niche adjacent services (e.g., custom integrations, specialized templates for specific industries, paid educational content around the tool) rather than selling the core tool itself.
Fly Labs Method
Is the pain real, is there a gap, is it the right time, can one person build it.
- Problem clarity
- 26
- Solution gap
- 10
- Willingness to pay
- 9
- Buildability
- 10
The pain of C/C++ build setup is real and specific, but the market is heavily dominated by powerful, free, and funded alternatives, severely limiting the gap and willingness to pay. While the idea is technically feasible for a solo builder, monetization is highly unlikely.
Value Equation
Dream outcome and how likely it feels, against the time and effort it costs.
While the pain is real and the idea's value is clear, the market is dominated by free, well-funded players, making commercial viability and differentiation extremely difficult.
One-Person Business
Curiosity pull, identity fit, and a path from free value to paid for a solo creator.
A clear problem solved by a passionate creator, but the highly competitive and non-monetizable market makes it unsuitable for a solo builder.
Viral Frameworks
Hook strength, shareability, and how cheaply it can be tested.
Despite a clear value proposition, the absence of a viable business model and severe distribution challenges make this an unsuitable micro-SaaS.
Builder Lens
Evidence the problem exists, timing, defensibility, and a model that fits on a napkin.
A real problem but a challenging market dominated by free, powerful tools, making a narrow paying wedge difficult to find.
Why this verdict
Five lenses, one composite. How scoring works
The angle
This weekend
- Consider open-sourcing the project and building a community without direct monetization expectations, as a portfolio piece.
- If monetization is a goal, explore niche adjacent services (e.g., custom integrations, specialized templates for specific industries, paid educational content around the tool) rather than selling the core tool itself.
Who is already there, mature market
- ConanVisit
An open-source, decentralized, and multi-platform package manager for C/C++ that helps create and share native binaries.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
A C++ library manager for Windows, Linux, and macOS, simplifying dependency acquisition and management.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
An open-source build and test tool from Google designed for fast, reproducible, and hermetic builds across multiple languages and platforms, especially for large, polyglot monorepos.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
Meta's open-source, fast, hermetic, and multi-language build system, a rewrite of the original Buck, designed for large-scale monorepos.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
- MesonVisit
An open-source build system designed for speed and user-friendliness with multiplatform support, fast full and incremental builds, and cross-compilation capabilities.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
- Hunter Package ManagerVisit
A CMake-driven cross-platform package manager for C/C++ projects, enabling organized builds across various platforms.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
- build2Visit
An open-source, cross-platform build toolchain for developing and packaging C and C++ code, emphasizing a coherent model.
Pricing: Open Source (free)
What they charge
Recent news
- C++23 Support in MSVC Build Tools 14.51
C++ Team Blog, April 09 2026
- Microsoft brings C++ smarts to GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code
InfoWorld, February 23 2026
- Top 10 Bazel Alternatives & Competitors in 2026
G2, 2026
- Top 10 Conan.io Alternatives & Competitors in 2026
G2, 2026
- Top 10 Buck2 Alternatives & Competitors in 2026
G2, 2026
Market signals
The C/C++ build tool and dependency management market is a consistently challenging but essential space. The need for robust solutions is growing, especially with larger, polyglot monorepos and the increasing adoption of AI in development. Recent funding rounds are primarily from large tech companies (Google, Meta, Microsoft) investing in their own open-source tools (Bazel, Buck2, vcpkg) rather than independent startups, indicating a mature market dominated by established players and open-source initiatives.
What frustrates people
- CMake is not remotely adequate with respect to dependency management, lacking support for pkg-config and proper propagation of package dependencies through installation files.
- CMake doesn't allow specifying whether to depend on static or dynamic versions of a library.
- Vcpkg doesn't respect `CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER` or `CXX` environment variables when selecting a compiler for dependencies.
- The default vcpkg triplets are often only usable for small projects, demos, and tutorials, requiring custom triplets for more complex needs.
- Vcpkg, being tightly coupled with CMake, inherits CMake's philosophical complexities, making many tasks convoluted.
Semble – Code search for agents that uses 98% fewer tokens than grep
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Postgres extension for BM25 relevance-ranked full-text search
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Consus (YC F24) – LLM gateway for companies handling sensitive data
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AI
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